Goodbye civilization

When one goes away for a work trip, things at the office pile up while the dust settles in awaiting for the employee stationed at the particular cubicle to return. In my case, I've got 3 weeks worth of dust and headache work waiting for me when I come back in August. It's not even gonna be far from KL, where I'm going. It's just 45 minutes away. But yes... It's gonna take us 3 stinkin' weeks. It's gonna stink, literally. Going off to where, you may wonder. Let me just tell you it's where I can travel to France and Japan in 24 hours, while still being stuck in beloved Malaysia. Don't be surprised if you suddenly realize I'm temporarily wiped off from the surface of cyberspace.

ciao

niamahfcukinbbq

No service tax at most restaurants

PETALING JAYA: Restaurants earning less than RM3mil annually and are not operating from hotels no longer need to charge their customers 5% service tax.

This followed a Government’s decision which took effect on July 1. The decision was made in view of the fuel and food price increase.

Customs deputy director-general (operations) Datuk Mohamed Khalid Yusuf said the move would deprive the Government of RM200mil in revenue.

He said during a press conference here yesterday that restaurant operators should drop by at Customs offices to apply for the revocation of their service tax licences.

He said there were 4,457 restaurants which earned less than RM3mil and the new decision would exempt 93% of them from the need to collect service tax. – Bernama

Source: http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2008/7/11/nation/21798459&sec=nation

_________________________________________________________

Picture this:

**After a meal at a restaurant**

Customer walks up to cashier to pay and given a receipt. 5% service tax still charged.

Customer: Eh boss, you earn less that 3 million yearly ah?

Boss: Yea lah. Abuthen?

C: How can you prove? I don't need to pay this extra 5% if you earn more than 3 million ok?

B: Prove what prove?

C: niamaccbbbq$^**&%^#((&**^kfg247&%^$87jfhsfheero;q.

B: knnccbZ7&djfge%&^$%&(jbgwshdg6&%VDH7%^&%

Catfight ensues...

Seriously, how much longer can we put up with this crappy government we have?

Left and right

Heart is what tells you how to feel. Mind is what tells you how to think. Should be something significant if both tries to tell you the same thing. I've had one of the more difficult days from work today and it didn't help that I got a rather unsupporting response toward the end of my depressing day. What happens when I try to convince myself that there's something deeper than what's seem on the surface, but both my heart and mind tells me that the treatment's wrong?

It's getting hot in here

I've finally gotten rid of the one thing that was sucking the life out of me. That thing, let me tell you, can make you feel like Gollum wearing the Ring. You'll feel invincible, as if you possess the power to shop every single thing in the world. That thing, my friends, is a bloody piece of plastic embedded with a memory chip and it's called a credit card. Thank goodness I didn't go "My precioussssssssssssssssss" when I cut it into pieces and dunk my hand into the garbage bin like how Gollum leapt into the burning lava. Actually I already got it cancelled about a month ago, but it was just today that I got down to destroying this parasite. It brought me lots of joy when I could purchase movie tickets, book for airplane tickets and hotel rooms online, but it also made me blind for a while for spending money that I didn't have. My friends, this is my advice for you. Be really sure and disciplined if you're gonna have a credit card, alright? It's not gonna be a pretty sight if you overspend. Don't say I didn't warn you.




What's left of the friggin' piece of plastic that nearly took away my life (and savings!)


On a totally unrelated matter... This was how I spent my weekend.

JUICE 6th Anniversary Party

Bad quality photo, but anyways we were camwhoring at the office before leaving to the party.

On the way to Poppy Garden on a Friday night. Woohoo!!!








Matchy matchy dress colour and handphone fur ball





Trying to fish for endorsement deals

Joey G!!! Andrea called him G Zai -.-" Sounds so wrong...

One Buck Short performing. They rocked the party!!

In case you're wondering... The theme of the party was stars & stripes. I forgot my starry earrings so Sophia had to draw a star on my chest for me to fit into the whole theme. Lol! Though we had a pretty good time at the party, it wasn't at all good when we arrived. I was faced with one of the devils from my past. Haih... I don't even have the mood to talk about it. All I can say is I gotta be more cautious from now on.


Saturday Night Drunkness

Part II celebration of Kuan Yin festival (lol... inside joke) was everything what the real Goddess of Mercy would disapprove. Alcohol, meat and the only thing missing was beef -.-"







It's empty...

Whatchiu looking at?





I'd better stick to sexy poses

Don't wake me up

September is the month when I was born.

September is also the month mentioned prominently in Greenday's hit song, "Wake Me Up When September Ends". And I love this song.

I've planned a trip to Tioman with the boyfriend in the coming September. We'll be flying on 16 September, to be exact. So when I saw this story in the news just now, I couldn't help but think that my trip will be jinxed, in one way or another, politically speaking. I wouldn't want the plane to fall off burning from the sky or anything.

__________________________________________________________

Azmin: Anwar will be PM by Sept 16

KUALA LUMPUR: PKR’s plan to make Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim Prime Minister by Sept 16 is still on track, said the party's vice-president Azmin Ali.

The Gombak MP, however, said with the latest allegations hurled against the de facto leader, there was some “slowing down of the process”.

“I spoke last night to the four Barisan Nasional MPs who want to crossover and they said their commitment has not wavered even with the latest fiasco. So far, there is no change. We are still on track,” he told reporters at the Parliament lobby.

Deep discussion: Azmin (right) chatting with Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Datuk Seri Nazri Abdul Aziz at the Parliament lobby Wednesday.

He said following a rally in Shah Alam on Tuesday night, they would be holding similar gatherings in Penang on Saturday and Kuala Lumpur a day after. He did not dismiss the possibility of street protests.

“Maybe we will use this forum for people to express their anger over what is happening and what is done by the present (Federal Government) leadership,” he said.

Azmin also said they were considering the possibility that the Federal Government might use this as an excuse to crack down on PKR. He denied that Anwar had orchestrated the sodomy accusations himself so as to draw the sympathy of the Malays, as what happened 10 years ago.

He said PKR had enough evidence of the people behind the accusations, adding that PKR president Datin Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail had handed over proof to the Prime Minister.

In an interview at the lobby, Balik Pulau MP Yusmadi Yusuf called for the suspension of Attorney-General Tan Sri Abdul Gani Patail and Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Musa Hassan pending investigations into the role they played in allegedly trying to cover up the assault on Anwar in 1998.

Yusmadi, who is from PKR, said the suspension was important as it would have a bearing on the “conduct of the investigations”.

Source: http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2008/7/3/nation/21727022&sec=nation

______________________________________________________________


Somehow I wish we can just fast-forward until the day when the whole shitty situation which our country's political situation strips itself off from all the circus acts. How can we allow all these donkeys people in power to fight about their own benefits in public while leaving us to tremble in fear while we think about the future? All these drama and debate over Malay-rights, fuel price increase, corruption, sodo-mee, inflation, mega projects which actually do help ease the people's public transportation woes being shelved and yada yada... I bet our hairlines are receding by the second as we calculate our expenses with the calculator. Not to mention that we Malaysians are really at lost thinking of what the real problem we are left to faced with and how it will ever be resolved.

Come to think about it, I think when time actually does stop until the moment all these circus acts are over, our country will be debt-ridden to the World Bank and we all have to live in poverty. No more gulit-free shopping spree for you and me...

I miss good food

Somebody please kidnap me now and throw me in the middle of Jonker Street!! Please?

I'm not going... But you always can

Click me?

Apparently I just won a pair of tickets to watch The Click Five perform live in Genting on 7 June 2008. Sadly I can't go. It could've been a great night up on the highland with the boyfriend though. I'm not a terribly big fan anyway, so I'm not devastated or anything. Didn't know I'd win anyway. Come to think about it, it could've been my first concert. But I think I'd leave that for an artist or a band that I really love.

So... Any takers?

Sorry baby, I'm just not in the mood

My thoughts are totally all over the place and I'm still not used to my new hairdo yet. Not that it's entirely new or anything, but I've just got it shorter and changed my side parting to the other side. So I'm totally annoyed of having to swipe my hair back every 5 seconds. Hate having hair touching my face but can't afford to not have hair in front of my face. Arghhhh!! The tension is killing me! Why do I have such squarish face??????????????? If I had a pretty little heart-shaped face like Charlize Theron's, I wouldn't have to worry about how exactly I need my hair to look like.

I'm only due to go down to Malacca this weekend but my mind has already made it down to Jonker Street. I'm visualizing all the yummy food that I can stuff myself full of and I can't sit still in the office today. I'm feeling terribly restless. There's a billion things to do but I don't know which one to do first. Everything seems to be so urgent and deadlines are catching up to burn my ass.

I'm absolutely not in the state of mind to think straight this moment. I need to lie down and stuff my face full of chocolates. Now if only I could find a couch for me to laze off and call it a day...

Camwhoring work trip

One could only imagine how hard it was to work on a full resort photography project without hiring any outside help - and we did it all from scratch! I'll not talk much about the work, but all I can say is I'm darn proud of myself - despite some little screw ups which I didn't handle too well. But other than that, I'm glad to give myself a little pat on my back. All work and no play makes Ashley a dull girl, which is precisely why we were fooling around whenever we could. Let the pictures show you how nutty the whole crew were.




Hell yeah I climbed up the wall!! You only need to figure out exactly how I did it





At the desert or the beach??





Just our luck - One of the shots we took.





Group pic at Tioman





You don't need me to tell you we were such camwhores - Fooling around at Subang airport





There's plenty of these lizards in Tioman, brought in many many years ago as food. I just forgot from which country.






Had a short weekend in Langkawi and this was how the outside of my room looked like. Not gonna show any inside shots because I don't bring justice to the rooms with my pictures.






They called this Orange Creme Brulee but it looked and tasted like a pudding instead. And it was my favourite food for the entire stay.





Woohoo!! My legs looked like they were a mile long




Don't ask. I don't know what's happening either





Camwhoring...





Again!





At one of the sets - We called it the RM50 wedding. Go figure!





You may or may not believe me when I say I'm the bride...



I've gone from one challenging portfolio to another daunting one. Work is definitely not getting any easier for me. Good comments and praises make me feel on top of the world, but I get stressed up almost immediately after. Doing good feels great, but that would only heighten other people's expectations about me. I'll try... Definitely much harder this time around :)

Weekend Laughs

I just read these lyrics and couldn't wipe the smirk off my face. They're just so fucking hillarious. Beats Mr. Bun's lyrics-rewriting skills anytime!!


............................................................................................

Jackie Beat, still young and sweet!
Oh yeah, oh yeah, oh yeah…
You know I’m gettin’ older
And I’ve gained some weight, too
In my imagination I am just 22
I’m way too busy to do Jenny, Weight Watchers, too
The fast food is to blame, cholesterol’s through the roof

If there's a camera up in here that’s takin’ photographs of me
Then it’s true, that you
Must sign this confidentiality agreement right here
tellin’ you, what to do'
Cause if you run the pics you got without the use of PhotoShop
I will hunt you down'
Cause baby this is show business, nobody wants the truth
Don’t even try it, this is my diet

Retouch my body
Stretch me some more
Take off sixty pounds
Then take off ten more
Retouch my body
Re-size my head
Clean up my skin
Please tone down the red
Retouch my body
Lipo my thighs
With your computer mouse
I’m as big as a house
Retouch my body
Remove every curve
I’m goin’ to the mall to get a soft serve

Give me a tiny waist because I eat like a slob
Remove a chin or two and how’s about a nose job?
Erase under my eyes where it is wrinkled and dark
Your resume says that you worked on Jurrasic Park

If there's a camera up in here that’s takin’ photographs of me
Then it’s true, that you
Must sign this confidentiality agreement in blood
or else you, will get sued
Cuz if I end up on Perez, Hilton lookin’ like a lez
I will hunt you down'
Cause baby this is show business, nobody wants the truth
Don’t even try it, this is my diet

Retouch my body
Don’t wanna look tragic
So call In-dustrial
Light & Magic
Retouch my body
Make me look lean
Like fat-ass Oprah
on O Magazine
Retouch my body
Even out my tits
And make sure that this haute couture size 2 fits
Retouch my body
Blur it some more
Come on and give me what I’m payin’ you for
Retouch my body

I just want some gummi bears, I refuse to take the stairs
Make me fuckin’ young and sweet
Get rid of my celluleet
I don’t want no photo, boy
I want an oil painting
Retouch my body

Retouch my body
Don’t cause any trouble
I am in denial
Don’t ya’ burst my bubble
Retouch my body
Just look at Madonna
In real life she looks like
An ancient iguana
Retouch my body
And if you can of course
Try to make me look
Like less of a horse
Retouch my body
I’ve no other choice
I only wish you could retouch my voice
Retouch my fuckin' body!

What's wrong with me?

Stop and stare...
I think I'm moving but I've gone nowhere

Those moments when I never knew better

As I sat in the same cafe waiting for my order, I had a sudden rush of deja vu. Thoughts of how it all started came rushing through my veins. It was on 23 February 2007, I sat in the very same cafe and had my dinner while waiting for him to arrive. I didn't sit at the same table this time. Did not order the same food. But I remember waiting for him to arrive at KL before I made my way to meet him at the bus station. And I remembered my drink. It was a chai latte. When it was time to meet, I downed my last sip before paying the bill and took the train down one station.

He arrived late that night.

"Sorry, I got off at the wrong station."

I laughed at him for confusing the names and got off at the wrong stop. Then we both waited miserably for the bus to arrive. I never knew then he would look at me as a whole new person. I never knew he thought I looked like a lady that night. It was 4 hours of endless and uninterrupted conversation that kept us awake throughout the nearly 400km ride. Seemed like too much is never enough. We kept on talking till near the break of dawn after arriving at our destination. We just couldn't stop. I never knew they could tell that he had feelings for me by then. Only thing I remember was how I tried to brush off the lovey feeling at the time when he offered to carry my stuff. Who knew the feeling stuck on until we came back to KL? And it grew so much till I couldn't take it anymore. I had to let him know. But I can't. I'm only a girl. I always wait for the guy.

I remember turning my head over to the side and looked at him sleep during the ride home. I felt like a shy little school girl with a crush on her schoolmate. The crush developed into something else when I got home. He was stuck in my head and wouldn't go away.

What we have now happened quite quickly. But only because we have mutual attraction. The guy finally opened his mouth and told me the right words. I remember the nights when we would talk endlessly on the phone and needed no sleep. Only met each other once a week when weekends would come and go too soon. Him smiling like a 5-year-old kid in a candy shop after he held my hands for the first time, after he gave me a peck on my lips for the first time. Sweet sweet memories that I will cherish for a lifetime. Looking forward to more sweet memories to be ours.

Langkawi Killed My Joy

So diu. Cannot go shopping for cheap stuff this weekend. Never mind. I'll go for the next Shopaholics Party next week. Hmph!!

My Swelling Pride

I believe the sun should never set upon an argument
I believe we place our happiness in other people's hands
I believe that junk food tastes so good because it's bad for you
I believe your parents did the best job they knew how to do
I believe that beauty magazines promote low self esteem
I believe I'm loved when I'm completely by myself alone

I believe in Karma what you give is what you get returned
I believe you can't appreciate real love until you've been burned
I believe the grass is more greener on the other side
I believe you don't know what you've got until you say goodbye


Humans were never made perfect, and I'm only human. The girl in the mirror is one cunning and selfish bitch and I don't like what I see. I know she's got many tricks to manipulate people to get what she wants but sometimes I let her be. But she's beginning to go too far. Thank goodness for him being a solid rock or else she would've fallen apart. She is me. It's my call now to not take things for granted and save myself from a lifetime of loneliness.

Another friend of mine is going to work away from the country. Not too far, she's just going to Singapore. We had a farewell dinner + yumcha session last Saturday. She was close to tears by the end of the night as it would be last time she'd meet us for quite a while. At least more than half a year. Dinner was at Tony Roma's, The Gardens. The waiting list was horribly long but the great food and service made up for it. We had the best chicken dishes and can I mention even the broccoli was super delicious? In a way it's the last supper for me 'cause I started my detox plan yesterday. More on that later.

Stories of friends going away always make me curse silently, or rather inside my head. I want to work outside of the country too!! But it's always easier said than done. There's the fear of going on the Internet to look for job opportunities and fear of submitting my resume. And what if no one ever picks up my bloody profile? After all, I've never heard of friends securing a job overseas without connections. It's so cool and melancholic to be working alone in a foreign city and only depending on yourself while you're struggling to fit in. Sounds like my biggest fear but I'd love to live that life. If all fails I still have a home to come back running to.

It's Day 2 of Detox and I just had the worst abdomen pain in my life ever. Period.

No pun intended.

The most luxurious food I've had was last night's soup. Did not even touch the chicken to boil the broth. I brought a bagful of apples for these few day's lunches. I'm gonna die when I touchdown in Langkawi by the weekend. There'll be free food at the resort, duty free chocoloates and booze but I can't have any!! I don't really feel hungry and it's been okay. Except for lots of gas releasing last night and the excrutating moment I had just now. It felt like my intestines were grabbed with two hands and yanked down to rip 'em apart. And I thought I needed to puke. I was immediately drenched in sweat because of the pain. Couldn't even stand straight. Thank goodness the pain went away and I'm doing fine now. I would not want it to come back. I nearly gave up. I just need to make it through the week...

Not quite back on track

I disappeared from the face of the earth for just one week, and look what happened! KLIA got robbed and we all found out that it actually has sucky security (God, how do they manage to win best airport for so many rounds?). Beyonce and Jay-Z had a secret wedding and Asslee Simpson got engaged with Pete Wentz... Do they wait till I'm away to do all these?

I've been home since Monday and I'm only going back to the office tomorrow. I really needed to bum around for a little bit. It's been chaotic at the island. There were more joy than pain but the damage caused by one single mistake was quite severe. I'm not quite worried because it's not my fault or the team's. But it's just so annoying because we have to clean up after someone else's mess. I guess I'll only know what's really gonna happen when I step in tomorrow. *fingers crossed*

If you're wondering what I was up to in Tioman for over a week, me and a few of my colleagues were actually there for a photoshoot. We desperately need new pictures for the resort. And my my... A photoshoot does not come easy at all. Thank goodness for the helpful guys. We were practically running around the place like maniacs. We'll be at whole once we get the new pictures from the photographer. Forget about the diva-esque non-professional model and office politics! We're just glad to have completed our task and came home with great results. We took nonsensical pictures throughout our stay to keep ourselves sane, but I haven't got 'em all yet. Picture post coming up next.

I'm actually illegally surfing the net with my mom's pc right now. Mr. Bun gave me the sad news that my pc cannot be saved. The motherboard was too old and they don't have that kinda model nowadays. The remaining stuff can't support a new motherboard so I gotta change everything, which means it's better off if I bought a new computer. Sucking donkey balls. I tried to hijack my second bro's computer last night but there was no port for the freaking modem cable. How uncool is that?? So I've hijacked my mom's computer momentarily. I gotta ask Mr. Bun to fix up my bro's computer for me 'cause neither myself or my mom can afford a new computer now. So the next time I put up a post, it's either from the office or my newly hijacked old computer.

Constipated people don't give a shit

It's April's Fool day and all I can think of is what a cool publicity and marketing stunt that Cleo has pulled off with Fly FM. Kudos to Lynette and team!! You'll know what I'm talking about if you've been tuning in to the station these past two days. Actually, I've been listening because of the shitload of cash the station's giving out. The money's snowballed to RM9900 this morning! How crazy is that?? Now only if they answered my calls...

I'm not feeling too well lately, and of course, not looking too fine either. My computer's kong-ed and I can't go online at home. Hence the absence in blogging. All because of a brainless prick's fault. But it's okay, it'll get fixed. And I'm gonna make sure he pays for it. I don't even care if we share the same mom. He's not getting away easily.

Hope next week will be less tough. I'll be away to an island. Yay!! Sun, sea and sand. Me loves. But sadly it's for work. Bummer. And last night I decided to really start on a detox fast. I can't take this sickening feeling anymore. It feels so scary to be so sick. Thank god I won't be in the office during the fast. Or else I'm gonna crash and burn like my computer's motherboard. It doesn't feel good for me to envy people who take their health for granted while I'm trying so hard to be healthy and still see no improvement. I'm looking at this new quote of the month on my calendar now and it says "Live life to the fullest and focus on the positive". How I wish I had more of such positive energy. Life now is more like me living to its foolest. The biggest fool on earth.

Closure to a chaotic week

I already knew it was gonna be a great Sunday when I started the day with a freakin' awesome piece of roti babi from Yut Kee. I've been itching to come eat here for a while and finally me and bun bun did it this morning. I even crawled out of bed at 7am just to get my system awake in time for the food.







Close-up

And of course I couldn't NOT order the chicken chop. The rumours were true. It was absolutely divine. Now those words don't just spread around as rumours anymore.







Mr. Bun had the beef steak. Not my favourite piece of beef but it wasn't too bad. I was just too in love with my chicken. I don't know what got into me but I was in the mood and appetite for another bowl of beef noodles. I saw a guy at the next table having some kuey teow looking thingy but instead I was recommended the dry 'lai fun' beef noodles. Let's just say sometimes mistakes happen for a good reason. The beef noodles were out of this world, and the soup packed a punch!








This week was very intense and had a special meaning to me. Intense part... I stayed back at the office till 9pm almost every night. To be soldiering the work of two persons on one person's shoulder ain't an easy feat. But I'll stay on until I venture into the new horizon. By the time April 14 comes, I'll be venturing into a whole new league. But I'm starting to tell myself everyday that I can make it. It's never gonna be easy. But it's still up to me. Special part... Mr. Bun and I celebrated our first milestone. One year is nothing much, and I still remember how I'd cringe if I ever imagined myself with a guy like him. But things aren't so bad right now, eh? Miracles do happen in the strangest placest and it sneaks up on you when you least expect it. And now I'm set for life. I hope tomorrow's gonna be good day. Lemme try to make it be.

P/S: I guess better things will come my way. Look what happened to the elections. That's some freakin' miracle.

True words for my true love

Mouth feels dry as gin
Heart melting like butter
Feel the sweatdrops dancing on my skin
One kiss, and you set my heart aflutter

However did my heart end up in your hands?
I swear I never saw it coming
Will you hold it till the end?
Across summer, autumn, winter and then spring...

Your presence makes me complete
For you take in my imperfections
Calm my anger
And make it all better

My mind can only make up dreams
Where the world is perfect, without flaws
Reality may not be what it seems
But with you, I want to have it all

One year has not been enough
Two years can barely satisfy
Sorry for the times when things got tough
You have my word I'll always want you as mine


Happy one year anniversary dear dear. I love you.

p/s: You still owe me a 12 carat diamond

I must say...

I need to apologize for not taking up to my responsibilities. But I'm glad there's a majority who feels the same way as I do, and are not afraid of saying it out loud. Kudos! Power to the little people! Yes, you may be gigantic and tower above the rest, but we sure have a way to bring you down. Albeit slightly. Take my word when I say now that when these all cools down, the first thing I'm gonna do is get my little ass registered for the next round.

Now that the rakyat has spoken, you guys better buck up and stop making lame excuses for all your shitty endeavours. If you only didn't manage to win over Kelantan, I'd fully understand. But look at Penang... Look at Selangor! We've had enough of your shit. So please... Get your act together and we'll be just fine (Yeah, Spice Girls supports us little people too!) We know you'll never really ever step off and not be the ruling party of the country; we just want you to really get it when we say we're fed up. Now, do you finally get it???

Today we shall celebrate in peace. But I'm celebrating for my friend's victory. I'm off to KLCC for her convocation ceremony. Please don't let roadblocks be in my way.

Oh yeah, congratulations to Jeff Ooi. Your victory means so much to so many people in such different ways.

Signing off...